New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson has been perhaps the biggest disappointment in fantasy football. Selected early in the second round, the Ohio State product had the opportunity to earn a high workload in a wide-open backfield. That hasn’t happened to date, as the rookie cannot get on the field despite a season-ending injury to Antonio Gibson. So, is it time to give up on Henderson, or can he still produce in 2025?
Fantasy Football: What to Do With TreVeyon Henderson
Why Isn’t He Playing?
You need to see the field to earn points in fantasy football, and TreVeyon Henderson simply hasn’t been doing that. New England entered the season with a weak running back room, and it only got worse following the Antonio Gibson injury. However, despite the injury, Henderson’s playing time has actually decreased in recent weeks. The rookie only played in 14% of the snaps in Week 7’s win over the Tennessee Titans and saw fewer carries than practice squad promotee Terrell Jennings. The Patriots believed in him in the pre-draft process, so why can’t he see the field now?
Sounds like RB Terrell Jennings made an impression, as Mike Vrabel says the team has found its “five-minute” back. pic.twitter.com/gWyHE21bUh
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 19, 2025
In short, he hasn’t done much to earn a larger share of the snaps. While his collegiate tape was impressive and he had some nice moments in the preseason, his in-season play has been nothing short of terrible. He’s averaging just 3.6 yards per carry and 6.2 yards per reception, and his advanced metrics do not paint a prettier picture. His true yards per carry is 50th in the league, and his 52.1 PFF grade ranked 52nd out of 53 eligible players. He’s one of the worst at breaking tackles, fails to read his blocks consistently, and appears to have trouble with the playbook. Even his pass blocking, which was supposed to be a strength coming out of Ohio State, has been dismal, as shown by his 13.1 PFF grade, the second-worst mark in the league.
In short, TreVeyon Henderson does not look like an NFL-caliber back, and fantasy football owners can probably cut him in redraft formats. Dynasty, however, is a more complicated story. While the 2025 season is likely a lost cause, history suggests he could bounce back in 2026 and beyond.
Developing A Patriots Running Back
Running back is generally considered to be a plug-and-play position in the NFL, but that isn’t the case with Josh McDaniels and the New England Patriots. Historically speaking, their rookie running backs usually need a season or two before they’re ready to handle full-time roles. The most recent example is Rhamondre Stevenson himself, who first entered the league in 2021 with McDaniels as his offensive coordinator. While he played well out of the gate, he was the clear second fiddle to then-starter Damien Harris.
Speaking of Harris, the former third-round pick did next to nothing as a rookie despite competing with a subpar, one-dimensional starter in Sony Michel. In total, the Alabama product finished his rookie season with just 12 yards on four carries. Despite this unremarkable start to his career, he earned the starting job in 2020 and finished the 2021 season with 929 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in 15 games.
Even during the peak of the Patriots dynasty, rookie running backs like James White, Shane Vereen, and Stevan Ridley never did much of anything in the offense. The lone exception to this rule is Michel, who handled starting duties after veterans Jeremy Hill and Rex Burkhead suffered serious injuries early in the 2018 campaign.
This doesn’t mean that TreVeyon Henderson will automatically be a fantasy football superstar at this point next year. However, it shows that McDaniels prefers to slowly develop his running backs, and it suggests that New England’s offense is difficult for rookies. If you have Henderson on your roster, hold him. If you don’t, it might be worth reaching out to the Henderson manager and seeing if they’re willing to sell low on the Ohio State product.
Main Photo: Matthew Hinton – Imagn Images
The post Fantasy Football: Time to Give Up on TreVeyon Henderson? appeared first on Last Word on Pro Football.